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Winter blahs …

I was going to entitle this ” Winter blues …” but I do not want to overstate my case. I don’t want my friends and family to worry: do you have days when you have no reason to be anything but happy and content but feel “down” nevertheless?

On the bright side, I just delivered my 2016 income tax to the tax preparer. It was daunting to catch up. I rarely throw out any receipt, but they become a morass to be sorted out. Somehow they got “shuffled” with paperwork from 2017 also. Thank goodness the pile from 2015 was still intact, because that return was completed long ago, maybe on time.

Also a bright facet to the bookwork marathon/late nights is that 2017 is ready to go except for the “slips” for CPP, investments and the like. Linda told me today that Revenue Canada is getting ugly about “missing slips”, and instead of calling it “oversight” they are calling it “fraud”. Please, I don’t want to be red flagged for that!

It has snowed a lot in the last three days. Gary worked tirelessly many hours to clear the driveway, pathways, dog kennels, accumulation on vehicles Monday. He and Rob are on their ski days right now, and I wore myself out shovelling a little, brushing off vehicles and plugging in the tractor. I went to town and cleared the walkway at the vacation rental and forgot to drive by the other house to assure myself that Rose is okay and “dug out”.

In our little town, she is telling her versions of what happened last Monday when I told her that I planned to sell the house. I know that I behaved correctly, but this is bothering me. In case someone who reads this personal blog wants to tattle on me for discussing the situation, make sure you have all the facts.

I feel so good that our local Support Society is helping Rose; I know this because occasionally they phone for some verification.

I had some wonderful news on the weekend, but I need to leave you hanging for a little while! Suffice to say, for now, that the news has gone a long way to lifting the vague feeling of sadness.

On Sunday, I took a great notion. I was missing a soul sister who lives in Kansas, and picked up the phone. Carol said that she was happy to hear from me, and I even had the fortune of saying “hi” to her two granddaughters on her phone as they came into the house for a visit. The girls and I only met for an hour, and Carol and I only two days, back in 2012. Carol says that to come see us in Canada is on her Bucket List, and the thought just came to me that perhaps her oldest grandchild can drive them all here one day!

Yesterday, I had taken care of the few doggy guests we have, and I noticed that Baxter was licking his wee butt. I scooped him up and diagnosed that he had an infected anal gland. So I hurried out to the vet with this sweetheart, obtained advice and antibiotics. I sit with Baxter several times per day with warm compresses, to alleviate some of his discomfort. The fact that he always seems cheerful and untroubled was a bit misleading … that spot must be quite painful. It seems improved today.

Baxter

Louis

Diablo

Carly

Ghost

Must collect my wits and do a little more shovelling. It’s good exercise, and though I hate the task, it makes me feel better in general. That’s as opposed to feeling grey and old and heavy.